The Barrie Amateur Radio Club Presents A Guide For New Amateur Radio Operators Amateur Radio – a Hobby and a Community Resource Amateur Radio (also called Ham Radio) is a hobby that enables two people to communicate (have a QSO) with each other via radio. Many different modes are available for use when communicating with other hams, these include: Morse Code (CW), Phone (Voice), Teletype (RTTY), Slow Scan TV, and many digital modes that utilize a computer. Many hams talk only to other hams near them or to those they know (such as other family members who are also hams). Some enjoy talking to people all over the world and some enjoy both. Others enjoy transmitting with very low power (QRP). Many hams enjoy experimenting with electronics. Some may never make a contact over radio with another ham - they simply enjoy building and testing their electronic projects. There are many, many ways to enjoy our hobby. 1 Public and Community Service Public Service is another way hams can enjoy their hobby, an example is when the Barrie Amateur Radio Club volunteers to provide safety communications for events such as the motorcycle “Ride for Literacy” around Lake Simcoe, or the “Walk for Dog Guides” where legally blind persons with their guide dogs walk along the Barrie waterfront. BARC members also try to promote Amateur Radio to youth groups such as Scouts Canada through involvement in events like the Scouts Canada Jamboree on the Air (JOTA). This also provides practice for BARC members in setting up antennas and ham radio stations on short notice and in less than optimum conditions. Amateur Radio Public Service can mean some work but can also be fulfilling and a lot of fun for those taking part. See http://home.tiscali.nl/worldscout/Jota/jota.htm for more info on JOTA. BARC members with the 14th Barrie and 1st Painswick Scout Troops during JOTA 2007 “Elmer’s” In Amateur Radio, the definition of an “Elmer” is a person who is willing to help somebody else - a guide or mentor. This help may consist of some or all of the following: 1. A demonstration of their ham station 2. Introducing literature pertaining to Amateur Radio to an interested person 3. Helping a fellow ham choose the proper equipment and explain how it works. 4. Helping an interested person learn Morse Code, Amateur Radio electronic theory, or apply for a new license. 5. Assisting with antennas and antenna support construction projects. 6. Teaching new hams how to work DX and what Contesting is all about. 7. Just being there to answer any questions a new ham or prospective ham may have about the hobby. How does a new ham get this help? Members of the Barrie Amateur Radio Club will be glad to help you or will put you in contact with another Club member who can help. There are many hams (Elmer’s) in the club willing to be of assistance to a new ham. Club members help each other all the time with many kinds of projects – so don’t be afraid to ask. Check the BARC (Barrie Amateur Radio Club) website for club meeting information at: http://www.barriearc.com/ and drop in, new hams (and new members) are always welcome. With a little experience in the hobby, you too could become a club Elmer and help others just becoming a ham. 2 Operating Techniques There are many ways to use Amateur Radio today. All of the various modes available require an operator to be considerate and to think about all the people that are either listening to you or waiting to use the frequency. Listening 90% of the time and talking 10% of the time is a good way to first start, whether you intend to transmit on a local 2-meter repeater or on HF. When transmitting on the HF bands, one must remember - the whole world might be listening to what you say (and possibly forming an opinion of Canadians in general). In the beginning, listen for some time before transmitting to become familiar with common operating methods and frequencies. Conditions on the HF bands are considerably different than on the VHF/UHF bands. You may only be able to hear one side of a conversation on the HF bands, so just because you don’t hear anyone at that moment doesn’t mean the frequency is clear, ask if the frequency is busy before calling “CQ” or calling another ham. Remember, you might be on the other side sometime, having a conversation with someone when another ham just barges into your conversation by accident. Be respectful to all others on the bands and treat them the same way you would like to be treated. Listening and adjusting to the established ways in amateur radio will allow a new ham to be accepted sooner. Remember, messages of a commercial nature are not allowed on amateur radio. You may not use a repeater phone-patch to call a plumber to fix your plumbing or call a radio station to enter their contest using amateur radio. Do not abuse this rule. If you want to join a conversation in progress, transmit your call sign between the other stations transmissions. The station that transmits next should acknowledge you. Don’t use the word “Break” as this word usually suggests an emergency. All stations should stand by for those that have emergency traffic. This is true whether on HF, VHF, or UHF. Here I must insert this comment; if you have upgraded from the 11-meter CB band, leave the jargon behind. Most hams find CB lingo distasteful and scowl when it is used. There is no place on the ham bands where this lingo is acceptable. This jargon identifies you as a neophyte and not ready to identify with the ham community. Don’t forget to identify with your call at the beginning and end of your transmission and at least every 30 minutes during your communication with another ham. Staying Within the Law Amateur Radio is a “self-policed” hobby, don’t be offended if someone advises you on the air that you are not operating within Industry Canada rules and regulations, learn what regulation you are breaking and correct your operating habits. Common problems with newly licensed hams (especially those from a CB radio background) include: swearing on the air, making racial references, or telling “off-color” jokes over the air. One common equipment operating problem is using much more transmitter power than is required, so that you are interfering with others on another repeater using the same frequency that is located a distance away. On HF, using too much power or having the microphone gain set too high can cause splatter on frequencies above and below your operating frequency, which can interfere with many other hams carrying on a QSO – not a good way to start your new hobby. Repeaters Repeaters are devices that enable hams to talk greater distances than they could normally when using two radios directly. A repeater is usually used only on VHF and UHF and is placed on a mountaintop or tall building so it can cover a larger area, this way a person can talk to somebody else on the other side of a mountain or located far outside the city. Without the repeater they would not be able to communicate. Of course, repeaters are not always needed to communicate on VHF/UHF, many hams use simplex (transmit and receive on the same frequency) to talk with each other every day. This is a preferred method for most hams when possible. Most hams make contact on a repeater and then move to a simplex frequency to finish their conversation if possible. Many new hams start out with a radio that operates on the 2-meter VHF band. They can use a handheld, mobile, or base station radio to talk to other hams. Any of these radios have the ability to be used on repeater frequencies. You can find a complete listing for repeaters in southern Ontario at: http://www.wnysorc.org/repeaterlist.html 3 Here is an example of repeater frequency and offset: VE3RAG, Barrie: the repeater transmits on 147.000 MHz and it listens on 147.600 MHz VE3LSR, Edgar: the repeater transmits on 146.850 MHz and it listens on 146.250 MHz VE3TTB, Edgar: the repeater transmits on 145.190 MHz and it listens on 144.590 MHz VE3KES, Barrie: the repeater transmits on 147.150 MHz and it listens on 147.750 MHz As an example, for the VE3RAG repeater, you would set the receive frequency of your radio to 147.000 MHz and your transmit frequency will be 147.600 MHz with a plus (+) offset (set automatically by your transceiver when you press the “push to talk” in duplex mode). In this case the repeater frequency would be written as: 147.000+ to indicate what the repeaters transmit frequency is and the direction of the offset. Repeaters are NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Repeaters are installed and maintained by individuals or a group to support a particular purpose or activity and for the common interests of their owners. The money and equipment to support these activities are either from the repeater owner or from donations or membership dues. When you operate on them, you are actually operating through someone else's duly licensed and coordinated station. Volunteers maintain repeaters and they do not get paid for this job. It would be a nice gesture to say thanks and tell them you appreciate their efforts. More info on repeaters can be found at: http://www3.sympatico.ca/alduncan/ham/Repeater_Basics.pdf Digital Radio - Combining Amateur Radio and the Internet Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) There are several Internet based Amateur Radio applications using VoIP. Two of these are the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP), and EchoLink. You can find more about IRLP at: http://www.irlp.net/ and about EchoLink at: http://www.echolink.org/ . In effect, IRLP allows the linking of amateur radio repeaters to the Internet on a worldwide basis. Utilizing a series of control codes through a touch-tone microphone, an Amateur can "bring-up" any one (or more) of the hundreds of other IRLP enabled repeaters throughout the world. In addition, "reflectors" exist which may be thought of as full-time party lines, which include many international participants at any particular moment. One repeater in the Barrie area offering IRLP is VE3LSR(2) on 147.315+. EchoLink allows individual users to connect to others either through an EchoLink enabled repeater, or through a computer connected to the internet and running EchoLink software. One such repeater in the Barrie area is VE3KES on 147.150+. Packet Radio Packet radio is a particular digital mode of Amateur Radio communications which corresponds to computer telecommunications. The telephone modem is replaced by a "magic" box called a terminal node controller (TNC); the telephone is replaced by an amateur radio transceiver, and the phone system is replaced by the "free" amateur radio waves. Packet radio takes any data stream sent from a computer and sends that via radio to another amateur radio station similarly equipped. Packet radio is so named because it sends the data in small bursts, or packets. This radio network provides: 1. Packet Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) to store and relay personal messages and bulletins; Keyboard-toKeyboard connection for direct chat between amateur stations. 2. DX Packet Cluster systems to announce band openings and DX stations heard by others on HF bands. 3. ARES/NTS and Emergency Communications for life and safety messages. 4. E-mail forwarding on HF and VHF through WinLink2000 (http://www.winlink.org/ ) 5. Networking and computer file transfer. 6. Satellite Communications for worldwide station-to-station links. You can find out more on Packet Radio at: http://www.tapr.org/packetradio.html 4 Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS™) APRS™, first introduced by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, in 1990, is a specialized subset of the packet radio concept. It has been developed as a tactical tool to allow the tracking and display of position and status information of both fixed and moving radio stations.. For example, in a civic parade, it can show the position (and speed) of the LEAD car, the MAYOR'S vehicle, FIRST AID and FIRE units, the LAST vehicle, etc. In a Search & Rescue situation, it can show the INCIDENT COMMAND location, individual SEARCH TEAM positions and the areas that they have covered, CONTAINMENT points, etc. These locations and status information then can be transmitted and superimposed on city, street, or topographic maps and displayed on multiple computer screens. More info on APRS is at: http://web.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/index.html Reciprocal Operating Agreements Canada has a reciprocal agreement with the United States. This agreement allows us to use our radio transceivers in the U.S. and U.S. citizens can use their radio equipment in Canada. The amateur station shall be operated in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country in which the station is temporarily located. Canadian amateurs operating in the U.S. have the same privileges as they have in Canada, limited by U.S. band edges and mode restrictions in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations (FCC). Refer to Industry Canada document RIC-3 for more information. Tuning your radio One thing that is very irritating to hams is someone tuning or testing their radio on the air without checking to see if the frequency is in use. Using a dummy load is the proper way to tune up or test your radio or amplifier equipment. When tuning up on the air, your HF transmitter can cause interference on the band. DX’ing and Contesting The DX bug often bites the new ham quickly while operating on HF and lots of rare and exciting QSO’s can be made with hams all over the world. Many contacts can be made with modest power and humble antennas. A typical transceiver power of 100 watts is sufficient to “work the world” on HF, but remember that a good antenna is much more valuable than more transmitter power is. Be mindful of changes in propagation and sunspot activity. One day you might not be able to communicate with fellow hams in the eastern or western ends of Canada on a particular band, the next day you will be able to communicate with hams all over the world. When learned, patience and operating skill are huge advantages and are requirements to work DX successfully. Spending most of your time listening for and answering DX stations calling CQ, rather than you sitting on a frequency and calling DX stations, can make you a more successful DX’er. When listening for a DX station, one should start at one end of the listening range on the band and slowly tune through the range looking for a DX station. Depending on conditions, this may take a considerable amount of time. Listen for a signal hiding behind a stronger signal. Many DX stations are not able to afford the expensive equipment we use. They may be using low power and small wire antennas so their weak signals are often hard to find. To make it easier for us to hear the DX station, the DX station may work “split”. This means this person will transmit on one frequency and listen on several different frequencies. His listen frequencies are those of his choosing and usually 5 – 10 KHz above his transmit frequency. Listening carefully to what the DX station says will help you to determine where he is listening. If you call on his frequency and he is working split, you will cause interference on his transmit frequency. This in turn can make others irritated and can result in “on the air” conflicts. Most DX’ers collect cards from the stations they work. This is called QSLing and the cards received from a DX station will confirm that you have worked that station. Awards are given for working over 100 different countries.